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lovescandi

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Posts posted by lovescandi

  1. Posted

    One of the big ticket items that was difficult to get was actually the correct bedframe. Most bedframes are PVC and standard colours however I wanted to stick with my colour schemes and give our MBR a softer look playing with shades of grey and oak wood. After visiting almost every bed showroom u can imagine the past 4-6 months including TilamKing, Poshbeds, all the big branded bed companies in the entire Singapore, we finally purchased a bedframe from Hommage (http://www.hommagelifestyle.com/) - thanks to renotalk buddies who shared their experience at hommage.

    Their pemimpin showroom is the place to go if you ask me compared to their thomson plaza outlet. The showroom is huge and carefully selected. As I wanted to choose my own fabric for the headboard and my customised design, Eric (the boss whom humbly claim he is not), shared with me his expertise over the decades on selecting the right bedframe. I wanted 100% german hydraulic system for storage to maximise space instead of china-made hydraulic system to last over time and finally got it a reasonable price. Eric told me if I could get the exact same one for lower than him, I could always come back to tell him because he is that confident his hand-made bedframe is good in terms of quality and design.

    I went over to their thomson branch to make payment yesterday and realised OCBC was offering 5% off which was awesome since the bedframe is a four digit figure.

    And finally, for those who are thinking of getting your bedframes from fortytwo.sg - they are really really dirt cheap and even though its stated its made of german hydraulic I suspect it is made-in-china non-lasting german hydraulic. After looking at the price, I've emailed them, commented on their FB page, PM-ed them on Facebook to ask if its China or authentic German hydraulic and they either never replied or deleted my comments. I believe in paying a little more for certain items that would last over time :thumbs up:

    Here's an idea of how my bedframe looks like, except that the headboard is in squares instead of diagonals and in tweed grey colour

    gallery_62588_461_54865.jpg

    • Like 1

  2. Posted · Edited by lovescandi

    I think if I choose again I will go for an id. Cos it is really difficult in terms of communication .,, sometimes I think the contractor cannot really understand what I am trying to say or I have trouble understanding him.. Haha...

    Hi Bianzi, I know what you mean, it was a tough decision!

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Anyway, I've finally decided, chosen and paid my deposit to the contractor after discussing with my hubby because apart from the few thousand dollar difference, I feel very much more comfortable with the contractor as he's very honest, sincere and accommodating. I guess apart from the price, we really need weigh how comfortable we would be in terms of working together.

    To be fair, here are some IDs I shortlisted and met in the past which left an impression on me however I actually met more IDs than those listed here.

    Contractor K- As mentioned previously, nice contractor but price was on par with ID or more expensive than some IDs.

    Chew Interior (Derrick) - Walked in casually and was served by him. One of the most ridiculous IDs such that my hubby and I wouldn't forget. After sharing our needs and design, he proceeded to show us a whole lot of 'scandinavian' designs which he thought was scandinavian but it was actually modern and resort like. Didnt have any idea of what he was doing at all and uttered so much rubbish I had to excuse myself and told hubby we had to leave. Thereafter he called us non-stop to tell us he's so excited to do our project and would like to meet us again. After calling us for several weeks and us outright refusing him, he finally stopped calling. Very persistent.

    Dots & Tots (Javerson) - Only decided to make an apptmt to meet him after my BTO's facebook fanpage was raving about him and the company. Many of my neighbours in the estate signed with him before I met him. He was indeed really nice, like contractor K, patient and his company is actually known to have affordable packages e.g. Premium BTO 4-rm package @ $9,999 etc but as usual like other packages ID firms, the moment you add in extra carpentry in the kitchen, wardrobes, craftstone wall (which is what I'm doing), the price quoted per foot was on the expensive side. During their 1st year birthday, they gave out 20 sets of blum drawers and hinges which drew many people but we thought it was just dangling a very small carrot compared to the final price you have to pay.

    Free Space Intent (Raymond) - Came across his portfolio 1-2 years ago on square rooms on one of the BTOs he did and he was actually the 1st ID I met when I started looking one year ago. Extremely nice person, very fluid / versatile designs, indeed catering to balance design + spaces. I really really liked him as being the most honest, sincere IDs we met to date because we realised along the way there was so many IDs that tried to smoke their way through telling us that this and that but Raymond was none like that at all. Even my hubby agreed Raymond was a fabulous ID and we decided to go back to him again recently. However, after revising his quote, we realised they increased prices across for everything from the 1st quote but to be fair, it was really a 12-month time period. The final quotation came to be way above our budget for reno including the fact we need to give ourselves extra 10% for any additions. Sadly, we had to drop him.

    Icon Interior (Wayne) - This was the ID we were weighing VS the contractor. Came across this ID firm several months ago on http://hdb-interiors.tumblr.com/ - intrigued me with one of their home designs and went on to their website to take a look. Eventually we met up with him and found him to be extremely focussed, hard-working, efficient and helpful. He wasn't like other IDs that didnt include certain items like acid wash + re-grouting and included all those necessary - sharing what we see is what we pay, it wouldn't increase unless we really wanted to add on carpentry or big ticket works. Everytime I called/msged him, he would most immediately pick them up or return my call. I feel pity that we had to drop him in the end actually but life is about choices right.

    THE CONTRACTOR WE PICKED (Let's call him Contractor J) - Visited my cousin house in Punggol and found her house's workmanship especially in the kitchen to be very very good. The problem with this contractor is, he's not into scandinavian and does what homeowners want usually like the common resort look. Like a typical contractor but very patient, nice, helpful, kind, prompt. Apart from this, he has no history in renotalk thus no reviews about him however after inspecting my cousin's house, we realised this could be the potential contractor like how Pinkwhale etc found Contractor K. Hubby and I was very comfortable with him and he was very flexible however, I think people should only go to contractors if they know exactly the design they want because without a strict and firm design/look, contractors may veer away from the original theme sometimes. He's given us alot of 'technical' reno understanding, and suggests how we can use spaces however in terms of design, I'm extremely fussy and told him he has to go according to my designs infusing his skills + workmanship and he was more than happy! Quite glad I found this contractor and can't wait to do a review on him. Most importantly, price is extremely reasonable and yesterday after signing with him and giving him the deposit, when he realised that I wanted drawers on all the kitchen which initially he said he would only give me 3 Blum drawers FOC (which is extra charge per drawer e.g. Blum $40-$50+), he shared that he'll throw in drawers for me FOC humbly which was really nice. I would have imagined if I decided I wanted drawers after signing with other IDs they would open their lion mouth to charge me for every single drawer. Apart from this, before leaving my house, he told me actually I should include one more lighting point to make the design nicer and said he would do it for me FOC again. Its not alot but we really appreciate such small gesture that he's not out to make us pay more and more along the way of the renovation. I also shared that I wouldn't be rushing him to completing the house within 1-1.5 months since I dont need to move in immediately so I gave him an allowance of 2-2.5months to ensure good workmanship.

    I don't dare to say too much about the contractor and the very reasonable price we signed for but decided to let the outcome say for itself when its completed. Really exciting and I can't wait!

  3. Posted

    Just my personal thoughts. I'm assuming both companies provide the same level of workmanship.

    If 3D is not an issue and you r comfortable with either one, I'll go for the contractor option and put the few thousands to better use for other parts of the renovation, like furnishing, deco etc :)

    Thanks for your input! Both provides same level of workmanship (in terms of material such as solid plywood instead of chipboard wood and giving blum drawers/hinges) Am still considering will decide this couple of days!

    +1 vote to contractor

    a. Few thousand cheaper

    b. You do not need the 3D and already know what you want as per said

    c. Install accessories free for you wheras the other charge you

    d. Electrical is included and you only need to lias with 1 person, using the ID & external electrician may have some defect which each will push to other party.

    *This is based on the fact that both have same quality of workmanship (Quoted from guojiawen :P )

    There is no really average pricing for electrical as it depend how many points and type of types you having, this will result in different costing.

    Hi Songz, thanks for your thoughts and sharing your opinion, appreciate it!

    Hi Arnold, received your message, thanks for sharing!!

  4. Posted

    Need advice from experienced renotalk-ers :bow::bow:

    The shortlisted IDs (electrical wiring not included) and contractors (also same as ID as they do everything INCLUDING electrical wiring) have been coming up my place to measure and do a quotation.

    I'm down to shortlisting my last two companies - one is an big ID firm that do everything very nicely include 3D drawing but the down side is that he's quote got no electrical wiring (he ask me to get myself or use his which will be more expensive) and he also charge me for minor things like installing toilet/room accessories.

    The other one is a contractor, but he also acts like an ID - do everything including electrical wiring (he quoted me $1250 for whole house fixing of all approx 12 lights, ceiling fans, move 3 light points etc) and free installation of all accessories. Only problem with him is there's no 3D drawing and it costs a few thousand dollars cheaper.

    I am very comfortable with both and have a clear idea of how my house will turn out to be actually so 3D drawing is not really an issue. :paint:

    Also how much on average is a 4-room electrical wiring without moving much points on average can someone share with me? Appreciate your help! I have until tomorrow to decide :unsure::unsure: Do share with me which you'll take and why?

  5. Posted

    Have been extremely busy the past 3 days going in and out checking on defects. You really have to have an eye for detail to spot defects. Honestly to be fair, there were no major defects. Mainly defects were holes at the timbre skirtings / holes beneath 3 room's window frame, scratches on window frame and service yard doors which was efficiently patched up by BSC. However due to patching of holes on wall, they've yet to repaint it so I hope they do otherwise I need to inform them my walls are of different colours.

    MBR Toilet Vanity Top was slightly slanted but no issues to me as I'm gonna remove both vanity sinks because they are pathetic. Toilet floor tiles had slight uneven tiling on some pieces and living hall porcelaine tiles also had some uneven tiling done. So far they've done up all the defects except for uneven flooring tile where BSC informed that they can only come in next week.

    Here's a photo of my very pathetic 40cm #worsethanpublictoilet vanity sink they gave us

    gallery_62588_461_46745.jpg

    Here's the defects of uneven/ sharp tiling in the toilet

    gallery_62588_461_47605.jpg

    Some updates today as well - Today my dad's good friend who owns a big air-conditioning company came in to view my flat and planned out the shortest and most 'sightly' way of routing the aircons and pipings. He told my dad he actually doesn't go down when his aircon men does their job but came down specially today just for me :good: He instructed his aircon men to use better materials etc and go by the shortest route so my pipings wont be exposed as I have yet to have any intention to box up the aircon pipings. Previously at my other houses, those designs that boxed up the aircon trunking leaked after 8-10years and my family had to get contractor sometimes to tear down the boxing to fix the trunking so I decided not to box them up even though it might look abit nicer.

    Also, he shared that he will do the trunking and hacking this Friday (before the 7th month starts) and come in again to fix the aircons when my reno is almost done (so that workers don't turn on aircon when they are working etc)

    Anyway, I will be using Mitsubishi Starmex System 4 (18K BTU and 9K BTU for rooms) - will review on this company's services after its done and his 'route' for the aircon trunking as I think many BTOs these days have the same floorplan :sport-smiley-018::sport-smiley-018::sport-smiley-018:

  8. Posted

    Oh yay! I shall look out for the elmark fan when I'm shopping in msia.. thanks!

    Your most welcomed!

    Anyway, today I visited Heritage Bathroom and am very satisfied with my purchases. I walked several shops comparing prices before finally settling down at Heritage and indeed their prices are not only cheaper than Jalan Besar & Balestier shops, but also cheaper than all the other shops selling Fujioh Hood + Hob and Carysil Granite Sink!

    So here's what I bought:

    The different models of Carysil Granite Sink (Pls note prices indicated is not the actual price) In the end I only paid SGD$190 for the Big Bowl Black Granite Sink - super cheap cause they are having 40%-60% discount ends end July so I quickly went down!

    gallery_62588_461_81065.jpg

    Top mount single bowl granite sink! Steal price cause in Jalan Besar other shops quoted min of $300+

    gallery_62588_461_185644.jpg

    Apart from this, I also purchased Fujioh FG772SVGL (2 burner, glass top) and Fujioh Hood FX900 F/V as well as an Ariston Oven 52litres @$550.

    Do note that these prices I purchased INCLUDES GST. There were other shops they quote me same or more expensive prices but when they are invoicing, they added another 7% GST which means prices were not nett. At Heritage, the salesgirl Sherrine who served me was really really nice, patient and helpful. She gave me all prices including GST and discounted further when I bought more + followed up with me via Whatsapp. If you go before July, you should ask Sherrine to serve you! :D

    (By the way beside Heritage got a shop selling exactly the same thing and their shop size is x2 and after an Auntie served (feels like the boss) me say their price is the best etc etc but when I went over to Heritage I realised the Auntie wasn't being competitive with the price even though she seemed to give me a lot of discount) Thankfully I compared before going Heritage! :P

    • Like 2

  9. Posted

    Welcome to RT!

    So you have yet to confirm with any ID/contractor?

    If that is the case, you have wanna slow down on all purchases as they play a part in achieving the look you want. :)

    Hi OceanEleven,

    Nope I haven't confirmed with any ID/contractor however I've done up a moodboard on my own and has a clear idea of exactly how it would turn out to be so I hope this would help in my purchases. So far I've only purchased my fans in the house. I'm planning to go get my hood/hob/sinks today at Heritage Bathroom Gallery because my neighbour shared they are having 40% off storewide (except hood/hob) until end of July! Good for those people who need to buy because after comparing the prices, Heritage Bathroom is cheaper than Adamas Bathroom @ Jalan Besar.

    Just to share:

    Heritage Bathroom

    Add: 718 Geylang Road Geylang Conservation Area Singapore 389630 Tel:+65 68460148

    Will review on Heritage after I get my stuff there! :dancingqueen:

  10. Posted

    Did you declare gst? As each person only allows $150 for the customs.

    Hi Ebo, I declared GST at customs upon coming back :jawdrop:

    Hello lovescandi! What model is the 3 blade fan and how much was it?

    Hi Hellonub, the model of 3 blade fan is elmark and i bought that! Its about 1180ringgit if I rem correctly :sport-smiley-003:

    How many litres was the joven heater? I got my 25litres in Singapore for $230

    Hi Bianzi, the 25litres was 500ringgit :good:

  12. Posted · Edited by lovescandi

    Thanks to much recommendations from renotalk and other forums, I’ve decided to take a big step to travelling to Malaysia, Johor to purchase my ceiling fans and standing fans.

    Ceiling fans are very vital to homes / HDBs these days to to space constraint on the floor (you wouldn’t want a standing fan to take up your already very small space) plus its aesthetically nicer to have ceiling fan for ventilation.

    I’m indeed particular about both fan design as well as how much wind it can generate. There are some fans that looks really really nice, but does not generate as much wind thus it defeats the purpose. To find out more on which fans generate more or less wind, check with the sales person and get them to explain to you the difference between AC and DC motors which ceiling fans use for power since I’m no expert as well.

    Much thanks to a really good friend who guided us there, we pocketed huge savings buying fans at more than 50% discount for some brands / models.

    Eventually, I purchased a Elmark ceiling fan for my living hall, 2 Ventos Fino Oak fan for the bedrooms, 1 KDK standing fan and 1 Joven 25 litre water storage heater. Didn’t get any bathroom accessories or lights as I didn’t think it was much cheaper.

    TAMPOI LIGHTING CENTRE

    Location:
    2, 4 & 6, Jalan Titiwangsa 3/1, Taman Tampoi Indah, Johor Bahru, 81200
    Johor Bahru, Johor, 81200, Malaysia +60 7-241 8999
    Business hours:
    Mon – Sat: 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
    Sun: 11:00 am – 9:00 pm

    Please take note of parking at Tampoi as there might be no or very little carpark lots. My friend and I (2 cars) was oblivious and parked beside Tampoi. Eventually we got a parking ticket when we finished our shopping icon_sad.gif

    Here’s Tampoi, a big building in yellow you can’t miss. You need to turn left from the main road to get here.

    20140717_113129-575x1024.jpg

    They’ve got several brands of fans stocked up including KDK, Elmark, Ventos etc

    20140717_121653-575x1024.jpg

    One of the newer 9 blades Elmark Fans on display

    20140717_114439.jpg

    20140717_114221.jpg

  13. Posted

    Welcome to Renotalk! :)

    Thanks Troublemaker! I'm excited!

    Welcome! Yay for Scandinavian! Nice pics. Yes totally agree about signing packages early, we are very wary of that as well. Don't mind me asking... quite curious, i presume you never got back your bridal package deposit ? :'(

    Hi Nickguthe,

    Thanks for welcoming! Nope we never got our deposit back even though we had the contact of the bridal owner. When I called her she simply brushed us off and after checking with different authorities, it was way too troublesome to get back any money. Well, I learnt thereafter never to sign up any packages and putting in too much deposit in advance (including spa, facial, manicure) :jammin:

  14. Posted · Edited by lovescandi

    More inspirations ...

    gallery_62588_461_1824.jpggallery_62588_461_6252.jpggallery_62588_461_40691.jpg

    Anyway, the search for the perfect ID/ contractor was indeed no easy task. I started out about 6-12 months ago, casually making appointments with all the big and small ID firms, as well as recommendations by renotalk people such as Contractor K.

    Noticed that the very branded ID firms such as Chew Interior hires various 'supposedly' ID to serve however upon sitting down and sharing our scandinavian ideas and designs, the ID serving me actually has no idea what is scandinavian and showed a whole lot of other modern, resort designs to me. He also wasn't keen to listen and cater to what we wanted and kept pushing for what he thought was perfect for us. After talking to him for half an hour, we gave up and left the place however he kept calling us up after that to tell us he's really excited and keen to do our home even though we told him we were not keen.

    Infact, I met many of such IDs who wasn't sure of exactly what we wanted and matching it to our expectations. With some knowledge and research, some tried to smoke their way through to getting us sign our ID contract, some simply blatantly was too pushy and ignorant.

    Met with Contractor K as well and he's really nice like what everyone shared. He's experienced and friendly however his quotation was on par with reputable IDs we met thus we decided to drop him out.

    One of the deepest impression I got was from Free Space Intent. If you have the budget, I say go with them cause they are really patient, experienced and very very helpful, accommodating however their quotation was on the high side as well. If I had a little more budget, I would go with them.

    To be honest, up till today after getting my keys, I haven't signed with any IDs because we weren't comfortable to sign a contract way too early, unlike our neighbours. We realised that many people typically sign their IDs way in advance however from experience, some had regrets as they realised there was better IDs or cheaper options. We didn't want to be in the position of not having any options and getting stucked with the same ID so we decided to finally shortlist an ID which we are most comfortable with - to come to our place this weekend, take actual measurements and revise his quote with us before we sign it.

    One reason why we are taking our time to sign was because previously when we were getting married, we signed for a bridal package way in advance, paying $3K deposit only to find out months before our wedding that the bridal went bankrupt and closed down. They say, once bitten twice shy so better to be safe than sorry now :)

    Lastly, more updates on my purchases this weekend once I get them! Thanks for sharing this journey with me and my joy in building the first home!

    • Like 1

  15. Posted · Edited by lovescandi

    Hello guys,

    After patiently waiting for 3 years, I've just finally collected keys to my 4 room premium BTO!!

    Decided to start this t-blog to share my scandinavian renovation works with everyone as I'll like to contribute back to homeowners since I've been a quiet reader for the past one year. T-blog has been really 'educational' to me in terms of tips and tricks as well as contacts thus I'd hope what I will be sharing would contribute to those who are renovating their home or getting keys to their new place!

    Anyway, here's my floor plan for reference:

    gallery_62588_461_27247.jpg

    My scandinavian design which I will be having are inspired during my stay in Denmark. During my stay there, I was influenced by the danish way of life, how their designs were clean and timeless as well as functional. I love everything scandinavian and my place would only be made of four colour scheme - which is white, brown, grey and black.

    gallery_62588_461_26688.jpggallery_62588_461_20784.jpggallery_62588_461_25698.jpggallery_62588_461_18664.jpggallery_62588_461_28248.jpg

    • Like 4
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